Love and War by Britta Irene (black books to read .TXT) 📕

I woke up to my alarm clock beeping relentlessly in my ear. I groaned and shut it off.
“Hey, whatever your name is. Are you getting into the shower first or am I?” I just realized that I didn’t tell him my guy name. My girl name is Kyla, but since that is a chick name, Kyle and I switched names.
“My name is Kyle. And I don’t care. Whatever works for you.” I told him. And I really didn’t care. I was not one of those people who took forever to get ready. And now that I don’t have makeup to put on, or legs to shave or hair to straighten, it will take less time.
“You get in the shower. I’ll go and find us something to eat. Or call somebody to bring us something. “
“Okay.” I got all of my stuff and got ready. I almost forgot that I went through all of his things last night. Almost.
When I walked out of the bathroom, I could not decide whether the sight in front of me was funny or insulting. James was sitting on the floor, going through all my drawers. Including my feminine products drawer. Aw, hell no.
“What do you think you are doing?!” I half asked, half yelled. He was playing with my box of tampons.
“Now tell me, you are either one of these scenarios. A) You had a sex change. B) You are planning on having a sex change. C) You have a girlfriend who is apparently going to stay here some nights, or, D) you are a girl. Now, which one is it?” he asked calmly. I gulped.
“C. that is what is going on.” I hoped he would believe what I just said, because I did not believe myself. I haven’t even been to one class, and James already knows that I am a girl. “Look, can we talk about this later? We will be late, if we don’t leave now.”
“We will revisit this later, no doubt about that.” He said. He got up, closed my drawers, and left. I scurried out of the door, remembering that I have o follow him to get to class, since I did not know the way. Then I remembered that I had the exact same schedule as him. This was going to be a very long day.
I stuffed a muffin in my mouth as I headed out the door. Lemon Poppy Seed. Not my favorite, but not bad. I looked up to see James holding the elevator doors open for me. He had a funny look in his eyes. I really hoped he believed those were my ‘girlfriends’.
First period was math. I hate math. One day, I am going to find the guy who created it and stab him. Multiple times. Luckily, our teacher does not care. He just told us to look like we were doing something productive in case the headmaster came in. We all decided to look like we were reading chapter three.
James was looking at me funny from across the room. It was not a hateful glare, but one of curiosity. One of his friends noticed, and he snapped out of it. He is really starting to make me nervous. What if he does not believe me? What if he finds out my secret? Then what, give up the dare? No, I wanted that $150. Maybe it would be best to act like I don’t know what he is talking about when he brings it up later. Or maybe I should just come clean, and tell him the truth. Whatever my answer is, I hope that I didn’t have to come up with it soon. I was at a loss. And I was panicking.
The harsh sound of the bell awoke me from my daydreaming. I gathered my things and followed James, a safe 10 feet away. Yes, I was doing what he told me yesterday, but I also didn’t want him to happen bring up the incident this morning in front of all his buddies. He took a sharp left, and I tried to catch up, but he was lost in the crowd. Great. I guess I am on my own.
I wondered around aimlessly, trying to look like I knew exactly like I knew where I was going. I must have accomplished it, because the only looks were of ‘hey look. A new kid.’ Then they would get on with their own business.
I guess it would have helped if I had my schedule, so I could look and at least get an idea about what room to go to. But, since James told me we had the same schedule, I pretty much figured that I could follow him. Too bad I didn’t expect this. Hot tears were threatening to spill from my eyes. I was embarrassed. And upset. It’s like he purposefully made sure I got lost.
“You look like you are lost. Can I help you?” I turned around and the most adorable guy was standing behind me.
“I’m Ryan. I don’t think I know you. Are you new?” it’s like God was answering my unsaid prayers. Ryan had blonde hair and eyes that were so green that I could swear I was looking into emeralds. He was medium height, and a stocky build. His voice sounded like velvet coming from his mouth. I was about to drool.
“Y-yeah. I am new. My name is Kyle. The guy who was supposed to show me around kinda ditched me.” I just realized how pathetic I sounded.
“I bet you James was supposed to be showing you.” He frowned, “it doesn’t surprise me that he did that. Do you know what class you are going to?” I did happen to remember the subjects and something somewhat close to the teacher’s name.
“Umm, I think science. With Mr. Canoli?” I wasn’t quite sure of the name. He laughed. Oh, what a laugh. I felt like my knees were going to give out on me. ‘Cut it out Kyla.’ I thought harshly to myself. ‘Guys don’t think that way about other guys.’ But I wasn’t a guy. I was a girl.
“You mean Mr. Cantele. I happen to have him this period too. Follow me.” He said, still snickering over my mistake about the teacher’s name. He turned around and started walking the opposite direction from where I was heading. I would have been so embarrassed if not for Ryan.
We stepped through the door right as the bell rang. I gave a hateful glance over to James, who acted like I was not even there. That really made me angry. He spent his whole time staring at me last period, and now he is acting like I am not even there! Am I not the only one who thinks that is weird?
I sat in the back next to Ryan. He introduced me to his friend Timmy. I have never actually met anybody named that. He was cute, like a puppy. He had light brown hair, with mud brown eyes. He was kind of short and skinny. Like I said, puppy cute.
Science flew by. It felt like we were only in there for two minutes. But that probably is because science is my favorite subject.
“Do you want me to help you get to your next class? I don’t know if I would trust James. You know what, what is your next class? And what teacher?” I guess he will be taking me to my next class then.
“Social Studies. Mrs. Amorosa. I think that is her name anyway.” He smiled, and my heart leaped.
“I have that class too. And so does Timmy, along with another friend of ours. And on top of that, we get lunch break right after her class. Comon!” I followed him out the door and down the hallway. Mrs. Amorosa struck me as the type that was passionate about history, whether it was a holocaust or a renaissance. I liked her immediately. She had a slight Cuban accent, making her seem even more passionate about history. That class also flew by.
I followed Ryan’s lead to lunch. I sat with Ryan, Timmy, and Dakota, the friend that I met last period. He had dirty blonde curls and gray eyes. He was gorgeous. But, he was quite, and considerate. I like him a lot. Timmy, on the other hand kind of creeped me out. But, creepy, quite, or friendly, they accepted me into their little group. I appreciated them for that immensely. They made me forget about what James and I were talking about this morning.
I ended up having English with Dakota and P.E. with Ryan and Dakota. And all of them with James.
“Hey, Kyle. You want to come with us to the lake tomorrow?” Dakota asked. I forgot tomorrow was Saturday.
“That sounds like fun. Yeah. I do. What time are we leaving?” he shrugged.
“Whenever Sleeping Beauty here wakes up.” He said, looking at Ryan.
“You guys just wish that you could look half as good as me.” Ryan told them grinning. I was really starting to like these guys. Dakota reminded me of Kyle [my twin, not the fake me] and Ryan and Timmy reminded me of Kyle’s friends.
“Cool. See you guys later then.” I said heading up to the twelfth floor. When I got back, James was not there. That kind of gave me some relief. I sat down and turned on the TV, when the door suddenly busted open, and James came in, looking pissed.

“What’s up with you?” I asked him, not really caring but trying to distract him from the conversation that was bound to happen at some point.
“The damn headmaster thinks he is God. He thinks he can just prance around here like